If Patience Had Value, XRP Holders Would Own The Market—Expert

In a recent market twist, XRP surged almost 600% between November 2024 and January 2025. Based on latest data, that rally made it the top performer among major cryptocurrencies during the US President Donald Trump-led market-wide upswing.

According to market commentator John Squire, the real story is the seven years of setbacks that preceded this jump.

“If patience was a crypto token, XRP holders would already be billionaires,” he said, pointing to the years of holding through crashes and legal fights.

If patience was a token, $XRP holders would be billionaires already.

— John Squire (@TheCryptoSquire) June 8, 2025

After a rough patch, XRP’s jump has caught many off guard. The coin rocketed from roughly $0.11 at the start of November 2024 to near $0.75 by the end of January 2025.

Volume ticked up on most trading platforms, suggesting fresh money is pushing the price higher. Traders who stuck it out through years of mild gains and deep dips finally saw a payoff.

From March 2017 to January 2018, XRP shot up more than 68,000%, peaking at $3.84. Based on on‑chain data, that blistering run led to a brutal 97% slide by March 2020, when prices hit $0.1140.

In November 2020, another bounce nearly doubled the price—but the US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit undercut that move, sending XRP down 67% in December 2020, its largest monthly loss ever.

Despite all that, the number of XRP holders kept growing. According to Santiment, about 986,000 wallets held XRP in January 2018. By December 2022, over 3.53 million new addresses had joined the network, pushing the total past 4.5 million.

That surge of interest came even as many US and Canadian exchanges paused trading. It shows that newcomers and long‑time believers piled in while regulators and markets wrestled with the fallout.

While the latest rally is impressive, it comes against a mixed crypto backdrop. Bitcoin and Ethereum have shown uneven strength, and overall sentiment is cautious. Some traders warn that sharp gains can trigger profit‑taking events, especially if the wider market cools or if the SEC lawsuit sees new twists.

Some voices in the space are setting high bars. Analyst BarriC recently said he isn’t satisfied selling at $2 after years of holding. His target? A lofty $100 for XRP. That would mean a market cap rivaling the biggest tokens today.

Whether that happens depends on fresh adoption, legal clarity and broader crypto health.

Featured image from inkl, chart from TradingView